Switzerland is Smart
From smart phones and wifi everywhere (without which this blog may not have been possible) to precise buses and trains (for the most part) to timed light switches, green/yellow/red lights for pedestrian crossing, bike lanes and parking everywhere, using electricity monitors to charge tenants for exactly what electricity they use, making the same key open the front door to the apartment building and also the door to your apartment and no one else's (?! How ingenious is that??)...but the best is...charging for trash bags. Switzerland is smart enough to know that people suck at separating recyclable plastics...so they charge for trash bags and the trash men separate ALL the trash...this in turn 1) makes people think more about how much trash they create (cause they will have to pay to throw it away) and 2) encourages companies to create biodegradable and/or smarter packaging which in turn is better for the environment...now, how smart is that? And only the Swiss can make a clock out of flowers.
Switzerland is Savory but with Slow Service
From the cheese to fondue to the speck (bacon) atop almost everything...Switzerland is full of savory tastes that yes, you are supposed to savor as Yetta explained last night. When you have dinner at a restaurant, they expect you to be that table's only occupants for the evening and they treat you as such (as opposed to the revolving door in the US). Not once did we receive a check without asking...not even when we simply ordered coffees. We never felt rushed out the restaurant doors. Food here is meant to be eaten slowly and savored over hours not minutes. Perhaps this is how a country so full of cheese and milk chocolate manages to maintain healthier weights than its American counterparts ;)
Switzerland is Sweet
Almost as sweet as it is supa...from the vistas from 7000 feet up, the snow capped mountains all around...the chocolates, croissants, crepes, steamy hot chocolate and of course the schnapps...move over Hershey: Switzerland is by far one of the sweetest places on earth.
Switzerland is Simple
Patrick was right when he said the dress code in Switzerland is functional. No where did I see girls wearing tank tops in winter or stilettos on cobblestone (unless they were obvious tourists). People dress for the weather not necessarily to impress. Case in point...summer uni-suits to go with their winter skiing uni-suits:
Switzerland is Steep
From the mountains (upwards of 7000 feet) to the subway platform in Lausanne...to the prices: the cost of living in Switzerland is super steep (and I don't mean supa!). A cup of coffee was 5 Francs ($5.50 USD) and a Big Mac was 12 Francs (not that I would eat one of those anyway but still). To ride the bus one way, 3 stops for a 'short trip' was 2 Francs. A one hour massage was 160 Francs! This place is steep. Thankfully having great friends and hosts such as Yetta and Patrick helped lessen the blow to our wallets...and of course the Swiss pass helped as well...
Switzerland is Snowy
Which makes it a great destination for skiing, snowboarding and soaking in the hot springs/spa-ing (is that a word?). The snow capped mountains were beautiful and while the winter low-lying clouds obscured some of our views, the snow to us in an otherwise snowless winter was welcome :)
Switzerland is Safe
I will knock on wood as we still have one more city to explore but for the most part Switzerland seems a fairly safe destination. Poverty doesn't even seem to exist here and if it does, it is very insidious. Switzerland enjoys the highest income earnings per capita in the world (according to Fodor's) and the only homeless and/or people asking for money seemed to be stranded backpackers and certainly were not Swiss.
Switzerland is Systematic
You saw the tangled web of trolley electric lines and complexity of the train tracks...but yet this country of watch makers somehow manage to keep everything moving and perfectly coordinated and precise. Buses with ticket machines at every stop as well as digital displays to tell you when the next one is arriving...and always, always on time. Maybe it's because the Swiss are proud, painfully neat and rigorously prompt...as Fodor's describes them. No offense, but these qualities do not necessarily hold true for Philadelphians: Switzerland certainly puts Septa to shame.
Switzerland is Subdued
"They don't stick their nose out in the cold wind but would rather wait and see" as Yetta explained. Switzerland is a country of neutrality and peace keeping. Below is the president's house in Berne (?) with an open door policy. Switzerland is fairly self contained with only 60% of the population being true Swiss...they protect their heritage and birthright and grant citizenship not to everyone born here, but only to those who earn their keep and put in their time...
Switzerland is Supa!
From our Supa personal tour guides and hosts to the Swiss Alps to the hot springs to the milk chocolate, raclette, rosti and fondue...All around Switzerland is Supa! Thank you Yetta and Patrick for such a wonderful and memorable trip!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Flughofstrasse,Rümlang,Switzerland
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